With this Paratonnerre Portatif in my hand, I can walk about for weeks under the clear sky, without the smallest danger.
"The Campaner Thal and Other Writings"
Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
His shorter tales are perhaps his best, and many of them, such as L'Ecueil, La Quarantaine, Le Paratonnerre, Le Gendre, etc.
"A Short History of French Literature"
George Saintsbury